Save Craven Canyon. Protect Sacred Waters.
When you give to GPTWA through Give Native, you protect the Missouri River, safeguard ancestral homelands, and defend sacred sites like Craven Canyon from irreversible harm. Your generosity moves critical protection efforts forward today!
Right now, our most urgent work is in Craven Canyon, a sacred cultural landscape in the Black Hills. This place holds more than 7,000 years of Indigenous history, with at least 70 significant cultural sites within the proposed uranium exploration zone.
Red Canyon Creek and Craven Canyon have already suffered from open-pit mining. They remain deeply vulnerable to further contamination.
In February 2026, the South Dakota Board of Minerals and Environment will consider whether to approve new uranium exploration. GPTWA will be there, presenting expert testimony to protect this sacred place — but we need your help to get there.
Why This Matters
Uranium mining threatens:
- Sacred Lakota cultural sites
- Water quality in Red Canyon Creek and surrounding watersheds
- Traditional plants, wildlife, and community health
- Generations of Tribal cultural continuity
Your support ensures Tribes have the resources, expertise, and legal support to defend their lands and waters.
What Your Gift Will Do
Your contribution directly fuels:
- Legal Advocacy: Hiring expert witnesses and attorneys for the February 2026 hearing
- Community Protection: Monitoring water quality and assessing environmental impacts
- Cultural Preservation: Documenting and protecting cultural sites in Craven Canyon
- Education & Outreach: Providing accurate information to Tribal communities and allies
Every gift — no matter the size — helps protect Craven Canyon and uphold Tribal sovereignty.
The Great Plains Tribal Water Alliance (GPTWA) is a tribally-led nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting, preserving, and restoring Tribal water rights. Guided by Indigenous knowledge, values, and sovereignty, GPTWA works to ensure that water is protected for future generations.
We provide critical support to Tribal governments and communities through technical assistance, policy advocacy, education, and community resilience planning. Our work includes advancing Tribal water rights, promoting sustainable watershed management, supporting adaptation, and strengthening collaboration between Tribal Nations and federal, state, and local partners.
GPTWA has served as a trusted voice for Tribal Nations, building capacity at the community level while ensuring Tribes have a seat at the table in regional and national decision-making. By uplifting Tribal leadership and traditional knowledge, GPTWA is helping secure a resilient and just water future for all.
What We Do
Protecting the Missouri River. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers operates the Upper Missouri River mainstem dams, creating significant adverse effects on Tribal water supply, cultural resources, and fish and wildlife habitat. GPTWA works to protect Indian water rights on reservations and urges the Corps to modify dam operations to ensure water justice for Tribal Nations.
Protecting Wetlands. GPTWA partners with Tribal Nations and allies to fight Clean Water Act rollbacks and defend wetlands across Indian Country and throughout the United States. These wetlands are vital to cultural practices, wildlife habitat, and overall watershed health.
Fighting Mining in the Black Hills. We work alongside regional partners to oppose destructive mining claims that threaten water quality and sacred sites in the Black Hills. GPTWA advocates for Tribal sovereignty, environmental protection, and culturally significant landscapes.
Opposition to the Western Dakota Regional Water Project. Local water districts are seeking over $1 billion for an economically infeasible pipeline from the Missouri River to the Black Hills—while Tribal water infrastructure remains woefully underfunded. GPTWA advocates for full funding of Tribal water projects that meet immediate community needs and uphold treaty obligations.
Defending Tribal Sovereignty Over Water. GPTWA’s Board and staff bring decades of professional expertise in Tribal water and natural resource management. We help Tribal Nations develop and implement Tribal Water Codes, water quality standards, and governance frameworks that strengthen sovereignty and protect vital water resources.